Immoral Behavior In The Crucible

Although it is saddening to think of how people used to interact back in the old times, it is very interesting to really analyze their thought process. The Crucible occurs in the town of Salem during the Puritan time period. Most of the people are dull and bland, but in the shadows lurks scandal and mischief. The reason that all of the immoral behavior is kept under wraps is the society’s importance of dignity. Citizens of Salem value their names more than anything else in this world.
An important character in the film who at least tries to keep his name pure is Reverend Paris. As the religious leader of the town, his attitude and the way he carries himself should be the most prestigious. One of the largest examples of the importance in

one’s name being clean is when he discovers his niece and other younger women dancing and practicing witch craft. He finds them in the forest with an African slave teaching them the devilish rituals. His niece, Abigail, is confronted by him for this very occurrence. Rather than tell the town and give the young women some sort of repercussions, he tries to keep it under rocks until it is found out at the end of the movie. The reason for doing so is because if the town knew about his niece doing such things they would view his kin as unprincipled thus staining his name. An additional situation that is threatening his reputation is his daughter being sick. At first you feel sorry for the poor father until you realize he is just worried that the town is going to believe his family is associated with witchcraft. Lastly the selfish reverend even lies in court to protect his name. He tells that he had seen no naked dancing in the woods. The irony in that is we know he is lying because he spoke to his niece about it, yet the town believes his lies.
While all of this is going on, a man named John Proctor has had an affair with one of the young women named Abigail. Only he and his wife only know about it. They tell no one to make sure his name remains clean. When the accusations about possession of demons had started, immediately everyone started to deny having anything to do with the devil, including John and his wife. They knew they were not possessed or on the devils side. John Proctor confessed his adultery in front of the court in order to save his wife and show an ulterior motive for Abigail accusing his wife of witchcraft. Although confessing that they did experiment with the devil would have saved them their lives from the start, almost all of the citizens kept their dignity and proceeded to be hung. One of the most dramatic parts of the entire story is when John signed his name on the paper, confessing that he had done the crime he had not committed. When seeing this, the analogy of someone writing their name in the devils book is so prominent. As soon as he saw it on paper and heard it was going to be nailed to the church door, he immediately grabbed it and ripped it up. John sealed his fate just to protect his family name.
Overall, the citizens of the town were both substandard and superior when it came to their reputation. Many lied to remain pure on the outside. Some Puritans in Salem would rather die in a clear conscience than live knowing that they took the easy way out. One of the most noble notions ever performed is following after Christ and sacrificing a life to stay righteous.